Job prospects Community Services Officer - Police in British Columbia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "community services officer - police" in British Columbia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in British Columbia

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Good for police officers (except commissioned) (NOC 42100) in British Columbia for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Some police forces face local recruitment shortages, although limited training capacity has slowed the occupation's ability to grow. 

The Justice Institute of British Columbia aims to increase its training seats by 50% in 2026. 

The RCMP is also faces hiring shortages throughout the province as municipal forces draw many potential recruits. 

The Surrey Police Service has hired much of the available labour for this occupation in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region, though there have been calls for more specialized hiring to address public safety concerns such as organized crime. 

Based on the Statistics Canada 2024 Crime Severity Index (2023-2024), British Columbia experienced a decrease in violent crime (-3.4%) and in non-violent crimes (-13.5%); meanwhile, retail theft (shoplifting) in 2024 increased for the fourth year in a row.

Here are some key facts about police officers (except commissioned) in British Columbia:

• Approximately 10,800 people work in this occupation.
• Police officers (except commissioned) mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 66%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 31%
• 87% of police officers (except commissioned) work all year, while 13% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 49 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 76% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 24% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 21% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 11% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 28% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 35% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in British Columbia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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